


between us

by tooruluvr



Category: SK8 the Infinity (Anime)
Genre: Character Study, Fluff, M/M, [slaps joe's head] this baby can fit so much yearning !
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-21 01:13:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30013815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tooruluvr/pseuds/tooruluvr
Summary: Kaoru gets a navel piercing, and no one but Kojiro knows.
Relationships: Nanjo Kojiro | Joe/Sakurayashiki Kaoru | Cherry Blossom
Comments: 17
Kudos: 159





	between us

**Author's Note:**

> i wish matchablossom a very get together soon <3

At the reckless age of seventeen, Kaoru gets a navel piercing.

Kaoru gets a navel piercing, and no one but Kojiro knows.

Kojiro knows he’s the only one, because _he_ is the one Kaoru drags behind their school that afternoon, hidden from the bustle of the other students and the teachers’ prying eyes. There’s the slightest excitement buzzing in his fingertips; Kojiro has long memorized its rhythm.

Kaoru—with absolutely _no warning_ , that bastard—casually lifts his shirt, just a little, and Kojiro prays to any deity that would listen that the shadows would conceal the warmth of his face. Unfair. Kaoru is so unfair.

The piercing, as far as Kojiro knows, looks simple. (Barbell style? Is that what Kaoru calls it?) Still, as he looks at it, he can’t help but wince.

“Didn’t it hurt?” he asks, tearing his eyes away to meet Kaoru’s. Kaoru shrugs, re-adjusting his shirt.

“Not much, actually,” he says, and the smile he wears is a familiar one. Over the years, Kojiro has memorized every curve and quirk of Kaoru’s lips, and this one is all bright mischief. _Fuck_ , Kaoru is so unfair.

“You and your piercing obsession,” Kojiro sighs, watching with interest how Kaoru’s face twists into a frown. Kojiro’s heart races all the same, cursed with finding Kaoru beautiful no matter what expression he wears.

“You’re just scared of the needles,” Kaoru says, bumping his shoulder roughly. Kojiro huffs and bumps back, and after years of this childish banter between them, Kojiro still can’t get over the thrill of every touch. Kaoru touches him freely, carelessly, and Kojiro wants him to know that he’ll always want this. He’ll always crave it.

But that’s all these desires will ever be—thoughts to be buried. Because he can’t say that to him. Not to Kaoru, who is so wild and unrestrained. He just can’t.

Still, Kojiro thinks, unable to stop the grin on his face. Still. Kaoru got a navel piercing, and no one but Kojiro knows.

━━━━━━━━━━

By the daunting age of twenty-seven—a decade that passes by in what feels like months—Kaoru has long removed all remnants of his rebellious phase. He’d forgone the careless style, the stubborn defiance in his words, and every last stud of metal through his skin. Kojiro knows this, because he’s been watching the rise and fall and rebirth of Kaoru all his life. 

Much has changed since then. Time is deceptive, and it has left them with scars yet to heal. Kojiro prefers not to dwell on what they had and lost—he can’t stand the way Kaoru’s eyes darken at the mere mention of it. Can’t stand the way a single name summons a shared silence between the two of them.

Yes, time was not always kind.

And yet, perhaps in a twisted act of pity, time has given them this: Kaoru, pressed up against the counter of Sia la Luce, mouth pink and pretty against Kojiro’s. It’s much past closing time, and they know they shouldn’t really be doing this here.

But they shouldn’t be participating in illegal skating races either, and here they are anyway.

“Hey,” Kojiro murmurs, pressing a kiss to the corner of Kaoru’s mouth. “Remember when you had a piercing here?”

Kaoru makes a soft noise—something like a scoff or a breath of laughter, Kojiro can’t be too sure. “Of course I remember. Why are you suddenly talking about that?” His hand slips around Kojiro’s neck, fingers tugging lightly at his curls. “You always talk too much when we’re kissing.”

Kojiro grins. “I was just thinking about that. About how you always looked a little excited, every time you’d get a piercing.” His lips trail softly along Kaoru’s jaw, and Kojiro has kissed Kaoru long enough to know just how to do it the way he likes it. He has kissed Kaoru long enough to memorize each and every sound that lovely mouth can make. “Like a kid, a little.”

Kojiro hears the beginnings of an objection in the single breath Kaoru takes and steals it with another kiss, just below his ear.

“Here too,” he says, taking silent delight in how Kaoru shudders at the warmth of his breath. “You had a piercing here too.”

Kaoru releases a breath, something shaky and soft. They’re already so close, but he still finds a way to lean further into Kojiro’s touch.

“Do you have them memorized?” He asks. The lilt in his voice is teasing, but Kojiro answers him in all seriousness.

“Of course.”

“Wh—Kojiro, stop messing around.”

A small laugh rumbles out of Kojiro, and the sound Kaoru makes upon hearing it is one Kojiro knows he’ll remember forever.

“You don’t believe me?” He says, lips hovering over the shell of Kaoru’s ear, whispering secrets they both already know. “You had a few on your ear.” _Kiss._ “And you’d get so annoyed when the teachers told you to take them off.” _Kiss._ “It was cute.”

“Cute...” Kaoru echoes. Kojiro pulls back to look at him. The lights overhead are dim, but they wash Kaoru in the softest shades. Kojiro thinks he could stay here forever, like this, just looking at him. He’s so much more than just _cute_ , but that's still a good start.

“And here,” Kojiro continues, placing his fingers on the nape of Kaoru’s neck. “It was well-hidden here, but I saw it.” When the wind blew, caressing Kaoru’s hair in ways Kojiro could have only dreamed of, that time. “I liked this one a lot.”

Kaoru stares at him, at this new thing opened up before him. Kojiro is no stranger to flirting, but this feels...different. This is not Kojiro flirting. This is Kojiro being vulnerable.

He leans in, then, until there’s but a breath between them.

“But do you want to know the one I liked the most?”

Eyes locked, Kaoru nods. There is something like wonder in them, something of a spell. He wants to know the piercing Kojiro likes the most. Kaoru _really_ wants to know.

Slowly, carefully, like they’re made of glass, Kojiro kisses at the hollow of Kaoru’s throat. Then lower, above his sternum, briefly wishing their clothes weren’t in the way. Then lower still, where he knows Kaoru’s skin has bloomed pink, even if he can’t see it.

“K-Kojiro, we’re—!”

“Here,” Kojiro whispers, and the silence that overcomes them is unlike any other they’ve shared. This silence is sacred. Kojiro’s lips are pressed to Kaoru’s stomach, delicately, lovingly. Above him, Kaoru covers his face with a shaky hand. He has never blushed so much.

“I...I showed that one to you,” he says, “that day, behind the school...God, it was so long ago...how do you even remember?”

“Of course I remember,” Kojiro says. Kaoru looks down at him, and when their eyes meet, it feels like a decade ago all over again. It feels like Kojiro learning a secret meant only for his ears all over again. “I was the only one who knew.”

At the reckless age of seventeen, Kaoru got a navel piercing.

Kaoru got a navel piercing, and no one but Kojiro knows.

**Author's Note:**

> plot? i don't know her!
> 
> my twitter: [@tooruluvr](https://twitter.com/tooruluvr)


End file.
